As Custer continues to evolve, the need for an integrated civic, wellness, and recreational core has become central to the city's future growth. A long and storied past has gotten the City close to developing this facility - and it is now closer than ever. The Elementary School moved to the Education Campus on the east side of town, the City took over the school, the school was remodelled by volunteer and city crews, it was redesigned as a new Community Center, it languished, it caught fire. Finally it was torn down. The open lot is a beautiful sloping and flat lawn in the center of town. But everyone agrees - we need a Community Center there.
In 2024-2025, Tallgrass Landscape Architecture led the master planning process for the Custer Community Campus—a multi-generational civic hub designed to centralize vital community facilities while celebrating the surrounding Black Hills landscape.
Developed through extensive public engagement sessions, stakeholder interviews, and city design charrettes, the master plan creates a cohesive, phased vision for the community. The campus framework brings together wellness and recreation facilities, community meeting spaces, child and senior amenities, and connected pedestrian networks. By integrating a dynamic multi-purpose building across the public facility super-block, the community looks forward to a vibrant, accessible heart for the City of Custer.
Key Highlights:
Community-Led Visioning: Facilitated public input forums and stakeholder workshops to align municipal leadership and community priorities into an actionable, phased plan.
Integrated Civic Architecture & Landscape Architecture: Designed flexible indoor-outdoor spaces accommodating civic events, recreation programs, and quiet gathering.
Active Connectivity & Four-Season Use: Established pedestrian and multimodal trail links connecting the campus to downtown Custer, Harbach Park, and surrounding residential corridors. The City is now considering starting the development of the site by moving City Hall to the location designated on site.
Resilient Site Planning: Emphasized community consensus and provided clear action steps to move forward.